ABK tours behind brand new 'Mudface' CD

Published 1:00 am, Thursday, January 8, 2009

"That's how I like to be -- laid back and just chillin'. Why be uptight and all this and that? You get gray that way."

-- Rapper ABK

Native American rapper Anybody Killa, also known as ABK, has come to accept the music downloading epidemic -- regardless of whether or not he actually likes the practice.

When I asked him whether he and his old rap partner, Lavel, would ever reissue their long out-of-print Krazy Klan projects -- "Frustrations" and "Developmental" -- he told me a story about a recent in-store signing where one fan had him autograph an album he and Lavel had never even released.

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"People are out there bootlegging that stuff daily," ABK said in a Dec. 29 interview from his offices in Michigan. "It's up for download, so if we ever do release it, we'll have to probably add some new tracks to it or something like that."

ABK also realizes that despite the fact that he sold upwards of 100,000 copies of his first three albums on Psychopathic Records -- 2003's "Hatchet Warrior," 2004's "Dirty History" and 2005's "Road Fools" -- moving those kinds of units is far more difficult in 2009. Still, the artist, who released his long-awaited "Mudface" LP on Nov. 25, is taking the situation in stride.

"Downloading happens a lot more now and it's expanding -- the whole Internet system," ABK said. "That's the bad part about it. But it's also a good thing because you get a lot more people who couldn't afford to hear you able to hear you. So it don't matter. As long as you come hang out with me when I come to your town, hey, you can download whatever you want!"

Area fans will get a chance to see ABK live when his headlining tour rolls into Hartford on Jan. 12 for a show at the
Webster Underground
. Joining him will be openers the Axe Murder Boyz from Psychopathic subsidiary
Hatchet House
, the
Detroit Warriors
(Strict 9 and Venomiz) from ABK's own Native World imprint, and Rhode Island rap phenom ill e. gal from the Loonatix camp.

"I'm doing a lot of 'Mudface' tracks, I'm doing a lot of the old-school Psychopathic tracks and I'm doing a handful of the Native World tracks," said ABK, who left Psychopathic to form his own label in 2006 and returned to the larger label in 2008. "So it's gonna be a variety. I'm gonna have Strict out there. We'll be doing (songs including) 'Thoughts of Suicide' for you, stuff like that.

"Venomiz will be out there -- him and Strict," ABK added. "They're doing the Detroit Warriors set. They're gonna do some from 'Strike 1' (the mix CD). Strict's gonna be doing some of the 'Strike 2' and then they're gonna give a treat -- some 'Strike 3' tracks. And 'Strike 3' is gonna be a lot different because it's all original tracks. It's not downloaded, other people's tracks. It's an actual album, 'Strike 3.' "

Born June 26, 1973, ABK grew up on Detroit's east side. His father worked for the city's sanitation department, while his mother stayed home to raise ABK and his four older sisters. Both parents were originally from North Carolina, where they were members of the Lumbee Indian tribe.

Inspired by
Run-D.M.C.
, Fat Boys and Kurtis Blow, ABK got into hip-hop as a breakdancer and hype man. Around 1988, he formed Krazy Klan under
the r
ap name Jaymo. The group also included both future members of Twiztid, The R.O.C., Lavel, Killjoy and JD tha Weedman.

In 2000, after ABK and Lavel had released two Krazy Klan albums, the former released his debut solo album, "Rain From The Sun," under the name Native Funk. Soon, though, ABK became affiliated with Psychopathic Records, signing on as the hype man for another rapper, Blaze Ya Dead Homie.

By 2005, ABK had carved a name for himself as one of the most popular solo artists on the label. He released three solo albums, two of which reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Independent chart. And songs like "Hey Y'all," "Gang Related," "Hollowpoint" and "Ghetto Neighbor" had become bonafide Juggalo anthems.

ABK left Psychopathic in 2006.

"I just wanted to work with the underground -- you know, start building another underground label to where I've got homies that I felt deserved a chance just like I did," he said. "And a lot of publishing rights and issues that Alex (Abbiss, former Psychopathic label head) had dealt with. But me and Billy Bill cleared everything up and it's good. We're here."

While ABK released a double CD reissue of "Rain From The Sun," various Halloween and Christmas CDs and two Detroit Warriors mixtapes on Native World during his time away from Psychopathic, the "Mudface" project was always in the works and on his mind.

"A lot of experiences of myself -- a lot of personal things that I've been through or close family members that are in my life, that they've been through -- is what I wrote about," ABK said. " 'Dirty History' and 'Hatchet Warrior' and 'Road Fools,' that was based on a lot of the Juggalo stories because that was their word-of-mouth a lot. And on 'Mudface,' it was a lot of me and blood relative stories.

"Actually, that was the concept of 'Mudface' before I departed Psychopathic," ABK added. "That was how I like to tell the story on different albums. You know, the next album is called 'Possessed' and it's not more or less people's addictions. It's what possesses them to be addicted and stuff like that. I've got my own possessions of addiction."

ABK's favorite tracks from "Mudface" include "My Neighborhood," where he trades stories on the mic with Southern rapper Boondox; "Same Thing 2," a party song that makes him want to crack open a 40-ounce bottle of beer; and "Attitude," which inspires him to go out for a jog.

Another is "Thoughts of Suicide" featuring Strict 9.

"Who hasn't thought about killing themselves at one point in time?" ABK said. "Even if you're not serious about it -- I don't want to be here no more -- who hasn't thought that? And that song is more or less me and Strict saying, 'Everybody goes through it, but we're glad you didn't do it because if you did, you wouldn't be here now.'

"(And the song) 'Racist,' to me, it's not more or less the black-white, Indian-white issue," ABK said. "It's more or less of how people dress, how people look -- and people are racist of that. 'Oh, you've got tattoos. I'm not hiring you.' Or 'you're too fat to look good on the mic' -- you know, the whole Milli Vanilli thing. All that stuff is not right. It's that concept."

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Doors open at 7 p.m. The venue is at 31 Webster St. Tickets are $12. Call (800) 477-6849.